Chapter 143 The Shattered Past
Chapter 143 The Shattered Past
Liam POV
The bundle of white flowers lay scattered in the dirt between us.
Mrs. Olivia scrambled up from her knees, her hands trembling as she wiped the thick tears from her pale cheeks. She took a frantic step forward, reaching out toward me with open hands.
"Liam..." Her voice cracked, small and desperate in the quiet cemetery. "Liam, please... let me explain."
My legs felt like lead. I stood frozen in place, my hands clenched into tight fists at my sides. Every breath I took burned in my chest. Beside me, Elena stayed silent, her hand gently touching my elbow.
"Don't come any closer," I said, my voice dangerously low.
Mrs. Olivia stopped, her hands hovering in the air before dropping back to her sides. She shook her head, a heavy sob breaking from her throat.
"I know you are angry," she wept, taking another tiny step forward anyway. "I know I don't deserve to even look at you! But I had no choice back then... I was young, I had nothing, and I was so scared! I thought giving you to your grandmother was the best thing for you!"
A bitter laugh escaped my mouth, devoid of any humor.
"You had no choice?" I looked directly into her eyes, watching her flinch under my gaze. "You left me. You walked away and never turned back."
"I wanted to!" she cried, pressing her hands against her chest. "Every single day, I wanted to come back for you! But the guilt... the shame of what I did kept me away! Every time I saw your face, it ripped me apart!"
"So you just replaced me," I said, stepping closer to her, my posture rigid with anger. "You moved into a big house, took care of another man's son, and pretended your own child didn't exist."
Mrs. Olivia collapsed back onto her knees, burying her face in her palms. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Liam! Please, just give me a chance to make it right! I'm your mother!"
"My mother?" I repeated the words, each syllable tasting like poison on my tongue. "I don't have a mother. My mother died a long time ago."
She looked up, her tear-stained face twisted in pure agony. "Liam, don't say that—"
"I don't know who you are," I interrupted, staring down at her without a single trace of warmth in my eyes. "The woman standing in front of me is a stranger. You are nothing to me."
She reached out to grab the hem of my pants, but I stepped backward, completely out of her reach. Her hand fell empty onto the damp grass.
I turned my back on her and walked over to where the chrysanthemums had fallen on the ground. I knelt down, carefully picking up each white flower one by one, shaking off the loose dirt from the petals.
Elena knelt quietly beside me, helping me gather the rest of the bundle.
Together, we walked past Mrs. Olivia's kneeling form, heading straight to the headstone under the large oak tree.
I set the white flowers down neatly on the cold gray stone. I dropped to both knees in front of the grave, resting my hands against the carved letters of my grandmother's name.
Behind us, Mrs. Olivia's quiet, broken sobbing echoed through the open air, but I kept my eyes locked on the stone.
"Hi, Grandma," I said softly, my voice tight as I swallowed the knot in my throat. "I brought Elena to meet you today, just like I promised."
Elena placed her hand gently on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Thank you for everything you did for me," I continued, staring at the headstone while hot tears finally burned the corners of my eyes. "You raised me. You protected me when no one else wanted me. You are the only parent I ever had."
I leaned forward and pressed my forehead lightly against the smooth granite for a long moment.
When I stood up, I didn't turn back to look at Mrs. Olivia. I took Elena's hand, holding it firmly in mine.
"Let's go," I said quietly.
We walked down the grass path, through the heavy iron gate, and out of the cemetery. Mrs. Olivia stayed behind, a small, dark figure kneeling alone on the hill.
We walked down the long dirt road in total silence. The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving behind a cold dusk that settled over the trees.
My chest felt completely hollow, as if everything inside me had been scraped clean. I kept my eyes fixed straight ahead on the road, my jaw set tight.
Elena stayed close beside me, keeping her fingers intertwined with mine. After ten minutes of silence, she pulled gently on my hand, forcing me to slow my rapid pace.
"Liam," she called out softly.
I stopped on the dirt path, but I couldn't bring myself to look at her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently, stepping in front of me so I couldn't turn away.
"I'm fine," I muttered, keeping my gaze on the ground near her shoes.
"You don't look fine," Elena said, reaching up to rest her palm against my cheek. Her hand was warm against my cold skin. "Liam, look at me."
I took a deep breath and finally looked up into her dark, concerned eyes.
"She abandoned me, Elena," I said, my voice trembling slightly despite my best efforts to keep it steady. "All those years I spent wondering why my parents left me... wondering if I did something wrong... and she was living in the same town the entire time."
"It wasn't your fault," Elena said firmly, her eyes locked on mine. "None of it was your fault."
"I know," I said, letting out a heavy, bitter breath. "I just don't care anymore. She chose to leave back then, so she doesn't get to come back into my life now."
"Are you sure about that?" Elena asked softly, her thumb brushing gently across my cheekbone. "What are you going to do if she comes looking for you again?"
"I won't talk to her," I replied without hesitation.
"She threw away her right to be my mother twenty years ago. I'm going to focus on my life, my work at the restaurant, and you. That's all that matters to me."
Elena looked at me for a long moment, her eyes full of worry, before she nodded quietly. She leaned in, resting her head against my shoulder for a brief second.
"Okay," she whispered. "Whatever you decide, I'll be right here with you."
I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close as we resumed walking down the hill together toward the town lights below.